Introducing... Kat Quinn - musings from boston

photo by Erika Rae

When a heart-tugging voice, hard-hitting lyrics and poignant imagery combine, it can be a powerful force. “Phoenix” is a compelling piece of storytelling from Marblehead, Massachusetts native Kat Quinn. This exquisite song comes from her third EP, due out this summer. The video, directed by Ryan Nocella and produced by Gold Street Collective, juxtaposes a vintage romance in its blossoming, falling apart and aftermath with Quinn in the present day, surveying and coming to terms with the damage, eloquently portrayed as she wanders wistfully through a derelict house. It is a visceral soundtrack to her brutally honest insight. She indeed rises from the ashes of that broken romance as she’s shown running carefree through an open field, baggage cast off and freed from her memories.

You can purchase “Phoenix” on iTunes.

Kat Quinn moved the New York in 2011, changing her musical hobby into a profession and teaming up with producer Peter Calo (Carly Simon) to record her debut EP, Exhale and with Adam Rhodes (Bon Iver) on Kind of Brave. She gained national attention when she recently appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in his “Battle of The Instant Songwriters.” She was one of three people who were given a title and less than an hour to compose a song around it. Her on-the-spot song was “Clouds Are People Too.” In the past several years she has found her voice, a blend of exuberant folk-pop and introspective storytelling built on the solid foundation of complex emotions.

Quinn has just released her next single, “Going Home.” It’s perfect timing, too, as she’ll be returning to her hometown of Marblehead on Friday, April 3 for a special performance at the intimate Me and Thee Coffeehouse. Tickets are available here.

She’ll also be performing at Postcrypt Coffeehouse in NYC on 3/28 and at Seamstress in NYC on 4/9.

“Your words fall as softly as a bomb
And I survey the damage after you’re gone
Your words fall as lightly as a brick
And I wish I hadn’t walked right under it

Your eyes warm me like a house of snow
And I spent months shivering, wondering why I’m cold
Your eyes are cozy like a kitchen knife
And I wish I hadn’t cut myself so many times

Your hands hold me like a slip ‘n slide
And I think I deserve a safer places to hide
Your hands comfort me just like a gun
And I wish that I had been brave enough to run

I need somebody who loves me more
Than half of the time
I need somebody who loves me more
Than some of the time

Your love saved me like a broken raft
And I clung steady like I wanted to sink fast
Your love saved me like a wild flame
But I won’t lie with the ashes you laid
No I will rise stronger than yesterday”

– Phoenix